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Decorating With Forsythia

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

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Spring has finally arrived here in the Northeast! I kept pulling over to the side of the road today to take a few pictures while I was out running errands:

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So exciting to finally see some spring flowers start to bloom. I ended up here (neighbor’s) to cut some of my own branches to bring home:

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One of the reasons I love forsythia is because it seems to announce in high definition that Spring is here. Another reason is because it is so easy to work with and create arrangements:

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So simple and beautiful. I thought I would share some of my ideas to encourage you to run out and cut some branches! First I made something very simple:

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Then I added a pop of color with a few purple irises that I had left over from another arrangement:

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Next I decided to try a white vase:

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Doesn’t forsythia look so pretty in small vases also?:

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Do you know how beautiful that picture above would be if taken by a professional photographer? I wish I was a professional photographer.

I thought this branch was interesting:

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Then I was down to my last couple of branches and decided to make a smaller arrangement:

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Which looked a little boring so I snuck in some faux flowers:

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Doesn’t it look like I had so much fun? I hope that I have inspired you to bring in some happy flowers! Do you like decorating with flowers? Tulips are coming! And my favorite- peonies. So simple and beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend my friends!

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Fresh New Drawers

Monday, April 15th, 2013

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Over the years, we have accumulated a few old dressers along the way:

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I have thought about painting, but I really like their history and character. Do you see the keyholes in the drawers? Pretty cool and unique:

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Remember the post I wrote here wondering if I should paint or not paint this piece? I decided not to paint over. Once it is done, there is no going back and it really is unique and beautiful:

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But one thing I do not like about the old chests is the old, musty smell in the drawers. I might care about the history of the outside of the dressers, but I do not want to know the history of what was in those drawers before:

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I tried drawer sachets and pretty lined paper:

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But that does not work. And since I have been going through paint withdrawals(no painting projects lately!), I decided one way to get rid of that musty smell would be to paint the inside of the drawers. Yay paint project!

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Using a pretty paint color leftover from another painting project, I choose the color Ben Moore Riviera Azure for a beautiful surprise every time I opened up the drawer:

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I had this blue left over from painting the guest room a few years ago:

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I did not sand or prime, just wiped out the drawer clean before painting:

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Now I have pretty, fresh smelling drawers!

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That was my fun and easy project for this past weekend. Did you work on any projects?

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Measure Once Then Measure Twice

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

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Have you ever bought or ordered a piece of furniture and brought it home to find out it just doesn’t fit?

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It is such a pain, isn’t it? I think it happens to all of us at one time or another. A friend of mine recently bought a beautiful hutch at a local Home Goods store. She had measured her space at home for height and width to be sure the piece would fit. But she forgot about the depth measurement and when she brought the piece home, it was sticking out too far from the wall to work. She was very disappointed, especially since she had to take the large piece back to the store.

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Also, recently I was working with an online client on her entry and she liked the idea of two garden stools to place under the console table. She thought it looked as if  there would be enough room, but I asked her to measure anyway. Sure enough, the stools were too high to fit under the table. Saved by measuring.

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Another problem that occurs often is that we forget to measure the doorway into the room and then find out it doesn’t fit through the door!

So just as a reminder:

*  Be sure to measure all the entries, passages, stairways and doorways through which your furniture has to travel to get to its destination.

*  Measure for width, height and depth.

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Has this ever happened to you? Not too long ago, I bought a lamp that was going to be just right for my living room. When the lamp came in and I put it out, I was very frustrated to find out that I should have measured because it was too short in height for the space! Hopefully after reading this, you will remember to measure!

If you need help decorating your home, contact me today.

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Hale Navy To The Rescue!

Saturday, January 5th, 2013

My Garden Diaries: going dark BM Hale Navy

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If you have been following along with me, you know that I am in crazy love with the color navy which I wrote about here, here, and here:

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Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154 is one of my favorite navy paint colors out there. This week I had a little time to play, so I took my can of Hale Navy around the house to see what I could paint! Remember my office I am working on?:

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I like the California Paint Appleton painted walls, I just felt they were a bit boring. Hale Navy to the rescue!:

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I love it so much more now!

What else could I find to paint? Well, this mirror in the guest room has been bothering me a bit:

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I was not in love with the blue I used to paint this mirror over about a year ago. Looks to me like a fun and easy paint project!

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Doesn’t the green Frog Tape look so pretty with the blue? (Thanks to Carol over at The Design Pages, I found the perfect paint tape- FrogTape. It works so well masking, that I would not use anything else now.)

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TaDa!

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I think it is so pretty now!

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And one more project I could not resist, my bulletin board:

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I masked the edges well with Frog Tape:

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Now I have an original bulletin board:

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I still have so many projects for my office (flooring, bookshelves), but I already feel happier when I walk in!

Have you had time for any fun little paint projects lately? Love to hear about them!

P.S. If you want a shinier finish on the accessories you paint, you can always rub a little wax, such as Annie Sloan wax, on the surface and then buff to a bright finish.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kelly

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Posted in Bedrooms, Before & After Pictures, ben moore, color, Decorating Hints & Tips, DIY Projects, Interior Decorating, Kelly's Best Colors | 9 Responses »
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